


let it pour out of your soul

by bisexualbluesargent



Category: Raven Cycle - Maggie Stiefvater
Genre: Fluff, Multi, Road Trip
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-16
Updated: 2017-07-16
Packaged: 2018-12-02 17:11:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,123
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11513796
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bisexualbluesargent/pseuds/bisexualbluesargent
Summary: between golden gate bridges and burned cds and dangly earrings, henry cheng is in love with san francisco. and a few other things, too.





	let it pour out of your soul

Henry tried to keep his thoughts on the road, which was almost empty and never-ending. It was early - too early, if you asked him, but Gansey had insisted that they could beat traffic into San Francisco if they set an alarm and left their hotel quickly. Henry had been doubtful of the usefulness of this plan (the likelihood of Blue sleeping through any alarms and refusing to get up was almost certain) but watched Gansey plan the next week to every last detail. They were going to Pride.

_They were going to Pride._

The hills swelled along with Henry's heart. See, he'd always dreamed of San Francisco. He'd always dreamed of grand things but San Francisco was crowded and loud and beautiful. He longed for big cities. Small towns had charm, sure, but they didn't buzz like a street of skyscrapers did. When he went to cities, he could feel them breathing. They were so full, so alive. And San Francisco was supposed to be filled to the brim with love, something Henry had always been addicted to.

Little of Your Love by Haim played through the speakers, brassy and twangy and making Henry smile. He had helped Blue burn a CD of music in some library in Nevada. "Playlists are an art," he had said, "and this one is going to be incredible." Blue's grin after his words was already a shining example of why it was a good idea. Gansey had been in the history section probably looking up something about Celtic mythology (which was probably for the best, considering his music taste comprised of mostly The Beatles and Mumford and Sons).

"San Francisco by The Mowgli's," Henry had burst out suddenly. Blue had looked at him curiously.

"Definitely," she said, clicking something onscreen. She paused for a moment, her dangly earrings swinging quietly around her neck. They were huge smiley faces. "You know, they're going to have Pride there in two weeks."

Henry had stared at her, then given her a broad smile.

  
Henry swerved a little in the road as he came back to the present. Blue listed tourist attractions in the city as Gansey apparently pointed at the Golden Gate bridge in the distance. Henry couldn't see it, but he had stopped wearing glasses a long time ago. He doesn't know how he didn't notice the palm trees starting to pop up on the side of the street.

"I love this song," says Blue, drawing out the words in a swoon. Out of the corner of his eye, Henry can see Gansey with a soft smile mirroring his own as his fingers reached to turn up the volume.

Henry had dreamed of San Francisco, yes, but he'd wished and begged the universe for a love like this. He misses his friends from Litchfield House, but he's never been happier. And he's never taken so many pictures. He wish he could now, of that look on Gansey's face, but he's driving, and, well, priorities. He sends updates to his old group chat almost every day, receiving an equal amount of texts from the others telling him _we're so happy for you_ , or _i'm in paris today_ , or _have you seen what cheng2 did?_

He feels RoboBee move in his pocket and he sighs contentedly. To be known. He'd been a shy kid, a few years ago, afraid and unsure. He'd hated it. He wanted something big, wanted to be that something, and quiet wasn't in his vocabulary anymore. He'd spent his time in a dream, but not in the way Ronan did. He'd longed for an adventure like the ones he used to read about, for a friendship like the kind you saw in movies. He had it all now, and it didn't feel like a movie. It felt like San Francisco.

It was foggy, of course, as they drove over the Golden Gate. Blue and Henry whooped and Gansey was laughing, head thrown back, young and golden even with clouds blocking out the sun. It took a while to get into the city, with its people taking up too much space even when they tried not to, with its small streets and steep inclines lined with quaint houses. They found their hotel and unpacked, jumped on the bed to Frank Ocean and slammed the door behind them. Gansey was giggling at some horrible pun Henry made and Blue was scoffing and linking their hands together. Today her earrings were tiny hearts, and as Henry looked at her in overalls he felt something inside him he couldn't quite catch in time. He was sure it was good.

"Let's go into that art gallery?" Gansey pushed down the reflective pink sunglasses that Henry had bought for him a few minutes ago despite the weather. It made him look extremely douchey, which appealed to Henry a great deal.

"Yes, yes, yes," Blue said, pulling them through the doors. A worker greeted them as they went up a staircase into some white hallways. It was extremely quiet, and Gansey's face was lighting up at the baroque era paintings on the walls near them. Henry snapped a picture.

Highlights from Henry's camera roll by the end of the week:

  * Blue pointing at the penis of a very detailed sculpture of a naked man, Gansey rolling his eyes somewhere behind her
  * Henry squatting, trying not to laugh as he matches a pose in a painting
  * Screenshots of a Skype call where Opal took the phone from Ronan and Adam and ran
  * Blue in various poses and outfits in Chinatown (Posted to Instagram) 
  * Ferris wheel selfies with Gansey and Henry each kissing one of Blue's cheeks as she sits in the middle
  * Gansey holding a carved raven way too close to the camera, asking if they should buy this for Ronan
  * All of them on the boardwalk at night, arms around each other (Taken by another tourist after Gansey insisted)
  * Blue trying on a Harvard sweatshirt in a thrift shop with fishnets underneath, asking Gansey for his sunglasses as she peers into a mirror (Photo sent to Adam)
  * Gansey drooling in his sleep, then one of Henry doing the same with Blue in frame, smirking
  * Multiple videos of them at the beach, including them eating popsicles as Henry complains about the unfairly low temperature and Gansey being buried in the sand while Blue makes some bad jokes about it
  * Video of Henry waving a rainbow flag, the crowd yelling behind him. There's an identical rainbow painted on his face and you can hear Blue's wild laughter and Gansey's chanting to the parade passing by. Henry lifts up the camera so you can see the three of them, and they all smile, teeth and hearts bared. 



**Author's Note:**

> hey guys my heart has been simmering quietly lately, like it's waiting for something. i love henry cheng and i wish i were in san francisco right now. can you tell


End file.
